1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to displaying goods in general, and more particularly to a display stand.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are already known various constructions of display stands for displaying goods on sale, for instance. Examples of display stands of this type can be found, for example, in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,646,922; 4,723,664; and Re. 32,668.
Such display stands typically include at least front, rear and side walls that bound an internal space, and a false bottom or shelf located above an open bottom and connected to at least some of said front, rear and side walls, the false bottom supporting the goods to be displayed in the internal space at a predetermined elevation above the open bottom and the ground. It has been established that, in view of the often considerable weight of the goods resting on the false bottom, the support provided by the connection of the false bottom to the front, rear and/or side walls is often insufficient to prevent the false bottom wall from sagging or even collapsing under the weight of such goods. Therefore, it has been proposed to enhance this supporting action by supporting the false bottom from below at a substantially central region thereof on upper edges of upright supporting flaps. However, experience has shown that even this solution is often insufficient because the upright supporting flaps are prone to buckle laterally under the pressure imparted to them by the false bottom as the latter supports the weight of the goods on display.
Such display stands are often made to be collapsible. It is customary to ship the display stands in their collapsed condition to a packer at which the stands are loaded with goods, or to their final destination, for example, a retail site, again to be loaded with goods. In the former approach, the pre-packed stands are lifted, lowered and shipped in fully-enclosed, six-sided, box-like, shipping containers. It is not uncommon for goods to fall off the stand during such lifting/lowering movements. Moreover, upon arrival at the retail site, the pre-packed stand must be lifted from the shipping container and moved to its ultimate location. Again, goods fall from the stand, and it is not uncommon for the stand to buckle, during such movements. In the latter approach, the stands are erected in situ at their ultimate location, and only then loaded with the goods to be displayed. This latter approach requires skilled retail personnel, is labor intensive and is rather expensive.